The ECOWAS Commission participates in the Opening of the 16th EUMETSAT Users’ Forum in Africa and the Signing Ceremony of the Cotonou Declaration on the Use of Satellite Data for Monitoring Greenhouse Gases and Air Quality in Africa

The 16th EUMETSAT Users’ Forum in Africa opened on 16 September 2024 in Cotonou (Benin). The Forum, which takes place from 16 to 20 September 2024 in Cotonou, Benin, is organised by the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) in collaboration with the Agence Nationale de la Météorologie du Bénin (Météo Bénin) under the aegis of the Ministry of the Living Environment and Transport, in charge of Sustainable Development of the Republic of Benin.

The EUMETSAT Africa User Forum is a collaborative platform that fosters an ongoing dialogue between EUMETSAT and the African user community, including national meteorological services and their regional centres. The main objective of the Forum is to encourage the widespread use of EUMETSAT satellite data throughout Africa. The first Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) satellite data is being transmitted to Africa via EUMETCast. This Forum will therefore explore how these data can improve early warning systems for extreme weather events.

The ECOWAS Commission was represented by Mr Sédiko DOUKA, Commissioner in charge of Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalisation. In his address at the opening of the Forum, the Commissioner, on behalf of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu TOURAY, thanked the Beninese authorities for all the facilities put in place for the holding of the Forum.

He highlighted some of the actions already undertaken by the ECOWAS Commission to strengthen the regional governance framework for hydrometeorological services through strategic documents adopted and aligned with the Integrated African Meteorological Strategy. Commissioner Douka welcomed the cooperation between the African Union and the European Union, which will enable Africa to benefit, through EUMETSAT and Copernicus, from the satellite data needed for weather forecasting and also useful for greenhouse gas inventories, which are part of the obligations of Member States under the Paris Agreement.

On the sidelines of the opening of the 16th Forum, the Commissioner took part in the signing ceremony of the Cotonou Declaration on the use of satellite data for monitoring greenhouse gases and air quality in Africa. In addition to the ECOWAS Commission represented by Mr Sédiko DOUKA, the Declaration was signed by Mr José Didier Tonato, Minister for the Living Environment and Transport in charge of Sustainable Development for the Republic of Benin, the African Union Commission and the President of the African Ministerial Conference on Meteorology (AMCOMET). The meeting was attended by the African Union and its Member States, the European Union, ACMAD, the World Meteorological Organisation, EUMETSAT, AMCOMET, the Transboundary Water Basin Organisations and the AGRYMET Centre.